Background
A group was formed for a ski trek across the northern Urals in Sverdlovsk Oblast. The group, led by Igor Dyatlov, consisted of eight men and two women. Most were students or graduates of Ural Polytechnical Institute (Уральский Политехнический Институт, УПИ), now Ural State Technical University:
- Igor Alekseievich Dyatlov (Игорь Алексеевич Дятлов), the group's leader, born January 13, 1936
- Zinaida Alekseievna Kolmogorova (Зинаида Алексеевна Колмогорова), born January 12, 1937
- Ludmila Alexandrovna Dubinina (Людмила Александровна Дубинина), born May 12, 1938
- Alexander Sergeievich Kolevatov (Александр Сергеевич Колеватов), born November 16, 1934
- Rustem Vladimirovich Slobodin (Рустем Владимирович Слободин), born January 11, 1936
- Yuri Alexeievich Krivonischenko (Юрий Алексеевич Кривонищенко), born February 7, 1935
- Yuri Nikolaievich Doroshenko (Юрий Николаевич Дорошенко), born January 29, 1938
- Nicolai Vladimirovich Thibeaux-Brignolles (Николай Владимирович Тибо-Бриньоль), born July 5, 1935
- Alexander Alexandrovich Zolotariov (Александр Александрович Золотарёв), born February 2, 1921
- Yuri Yefimovich Yudin (Юрий Ефимович Юдин), born July 19, 1937
The goal of the expedition was to reach Otorten (Отортен), a mountain 10 kilometers north of the site of the incident. This route, at that season, was estimated as "Category III", the most difficult. All members were experienced in long ski tours and mountain expeditions.
The group arrived by train at Ivdel (Ивдель), a city at the center of the northern province of Sverdlovsk Oblast on January 25. They then took a truck to Vizhai (Вижай) - the last inhabited settlement so far north. They started their march toward Otorten from Vizhai on January 27. The next day, one of the members (Yuri Yudin) was forced to go back because of illness. The group now consisted of nine people.
Diaries and cameras found around their last camp made it possible to track the group's route up to the day preceding the incident. On January 31, the group arrived at the edge of a highland area and began to prepare for climbing. In a wooded valley they cached surplus food and equipment that would be used for the trip back. The following day (February 1), the hikers started to move through the pass. It seems they planned to get over the pass and make camp for the next night on the opposite side, but because of worsening weather conditions, snowstorms and decreasing visibility, they lost their direction and deviated west, upward towards the top of Kholat Syakhl. When they realized their mistake, the group decided to stop and set up camp there on the slope of the mountain rather than moving 1.5 kilometers downhill to a forested area which would have offered some shelter from the elements. Yuri Yudin, the lone survivor, postulates that “Dyatlov probably did not want to lose the altitude they had gained, or he decided to practice camping on the mountain slope."
Read more about this topic: Dyatlov Pass Incident
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